A multipoint and computerized intraoperative mapping system has been known to be of value in improving the results of surgery for cardiac arrhythmia. It shows great potential as a new tool in the surgical intervention of the more common and lethal types of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias such as atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation. In addition, it also enhances the ability of the investigators to map and ablate the sometimes fleeting automatic atrial tachycardia. The authors developed a 64 channel computerized cardiac mapping system using a microcomputer (Macintosh IIx) and this has been used for basic research in cardiac electrophysiology as well as in arrhythmia surgery. In this system, bipolar electrograms are obtained from 64 different cardiac sites simultaneously at a sampling rate of 1 Ksample/sec and with a continuous and total data storage of up to 30 seconds. When the reference electrode is selected, delay time from the reference point is displayed on a two dimensional diagram of the heart. This system was used in one patient who underwent a surgical ablation of a ventricular tachycardia in whom we observed a ventricular activation sequence involving a variety of rhythms over several minutes. The system design permits easy expansion to a simultaneous sampling from 256 sites. This 64-channel mapping appeared to have the potential to be of great help in our understanding of cardiac arrhythmia as well as in its diagnosis and surgical treatment.
Arrhythmia/*physiopathology/*surgery ; *Cardiac Surgical Procedures ; *Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted ; Electrophysiology/*methods ; Heart/*physiopathology ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial/surgery ; Human ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Tachycardia, Atrioventricular Nodal Reentry/surgery

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Balloon dilatation is a useful alternative to surgery in patients with benign pyloric stenosis. However, little data are available on the long-term outcome of the procedure. This report was attempted to determine the safety and efficacy of endoscopic balloon dilatation for 14 patients with gastric outlet obstruction caused by duodenal ulcer. METHODS: Review of medical records or telephone interview was performed retrospectively. RESULTS: Follow-up was conducted for median 18.5 months (3-48 months). Gastric outlet strictures had a median diameter 6 mm (range, 2-9 mm). Five (35.7%) patients had active ulcer. 12 mm to 18 mm balloons were inflated a median of 1 times (range, 1-4 times) for a median of 4 minutes (range, 1-11 minutes). Thirty-two procedure (1.5/patient) were performed; 9 patients (64.3%) had one treatment and 5 patients (35.7%) had multiple treatment. Immediate symptomatic relief was achieved in 13 patients (92.8%) and 7 patients (50%) achieved sustained symptomatic relief. Dilatation failed only in 2 patients (14.3%) ultimately and both recovered by palliative bypass surgery. No complication was noted during treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic balloon dilatation is safe and effective for most patients with gastric outlet obstruction induced by duodenal ulcer. And due to limitation of retrospective aspect of this report, further prospective, randomized studies must be performed.
Constriction, Pathologic* ; Dilatation* ; Duodenal Ulcer ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastric Outlet Obstruction ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Medical Records ; Pyloric Stenosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Ulcer

BACKGROUND: To reduce massive blood loss during a hepatectomy, many anesthesiologists have used the technique of low central venous pressure maintenance by administration of low dose nitroglycerin (NTG) and/or intravenous fluid reduction. However, so far there have been no studies about local liver perfusion (LLP) changes after hepatic artery (HA) or portal vein (PV) reperfusion in patients receiving nitroglycerin administration. In this study, the changes in hemodynamics and LLP following HA and PV reperfusion along with low dose (2micro gram/kg/min) NTG administration in dogs were observed. METHODS: A total of 20 mongrel dogs were divided into four groups; HA occlusion and reperfusion group (H, n = 5), NTG administration group during the reperfusion on H (H-NTG, n = 5), PV occlusion and reperfusion group (P, n = 5), NTG administration group during the reperfusion on P (P-NTG, n = 5). After femoral and pulmonary arterial catheterization, a midline abdominal incision was made. HA and PV were exposed to clamp and declamp. A thermal diffusion microprobe was inserted in the liver parenchyme to measure LLP. RESULTS: The PV blood flow was not changed after HA occlusion, but HA blood flow increased after PV occlusion. The LLP decreased after HA and PV occlusion. The LLP recovered to the baseline level in group H-NTG after HA reperfusion, but the LLP was more increased compared to the baseline level in group H. In group P, the LLP did not recover after PV reperfusion, but the LLP in group P-NTG recovered to the baseline level after PV reperfusion. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, it was observed that the LLP recovered to the baseline level by administration of NTG after PV reperfusion. However, the LLP did not increase after HA reperfusion by administration of low dose NTG.
Animals ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Central Venous Pressure ; Dogs* ; Hemodynamics* ; Hepatectomy ; Hepatic Artery* ; Humans ; Liver* ; Nitroglycerin* ; Perfusion* ; Portal Vein* ; Reperfusion* ; Thermal Diffusion

Lymphangioma is a congenital malformation of the lymphatic system, commonly seen in the neck. Operation was the treatment of choice but it is difficult to resect the lymphangiomas completely. The aim of this study is to evaluate the result of intralesional injection of OK-432 as a treatment strategy of lymphangioma in children. Medical records of 51 cases of lymphangioma from March 1996 to February 2001 were reviewed retrospectively. Intralesional injection of 0.1 mg OK-432 in 10ml normal saline was performed after the aspiration of as much fluid as possible. The location of the lesion was the face and neck in 26 patients, the chest wall in 14, the extremities in 9, and the abdominal wall in 2. The cystic type was present in 45 patients and the cavernous type in 6. Four postoperative recurrent cases were included. Fluid aspiration from the lesion was impossible in 5 patients. Development of fever after injection was observed in 27 patients and local inflammatory reaction was in 5 patients. There was no scar formation at injection sites. Complete shrinkage was observed in 20 patients, remarkable shrinkage in 23, slight shrinkage in 3, and no response in 5. Cystic type or aspiration-possible cases showed better outcome than cavernous type or aspiration-impossible cases. All of four recurrent cases after surgical excision showed at least remarkable shrinkage. These results indicate that intralesional injection of OK-432 is a safe and satisfactory treatment modality of lymphangiomas in children and might be considered as a treatment of choice, even in recurrent cases.
Abdominal Wall ; Child* ; Cicatrix ; Extremities ; Fever ; Humans ; Injections, Intralesional* ; Lymphangioma* ; Lymphatic System ; Medical Records ; Neck ; Picibanil* ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracic Wall

Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the Lung(CCAM) is characterized by anomalous fetal development of terminal respiratory structures, resulting in an adenomatoid proliferation of bronchiolar elements and cystic formation. CCAM was first described and differentiated from other cystic lung disease in the English literature by Ch'in and Tang in 1949. CCAM is a rare, potentially lethal form of congenital pulmonary cystic disease and the salient features of lesion are an irregular network of terminal respiratory bronchiole-like structures and macrocysts variably lined by pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium and simple cuboidal epithelium. Adult presentation of CCAM of the lung is so tare that only 9 cases have been reported in the literature of date. The pathogenesis of CCAM remains disputed and reseachers have variously proposed that the lesion represents a developmental anomaly, hamartoma, or a form of pulmonary dysplasia. Van Dijk and Wagenvoort divided CCAM into three subtypes: cystic, intermediated, and solid. These correspond to types I, II, and III of Stocker. In adults, the evaluation of cystic or multicystic lung disease requires consideration of a differential diagnosis including the acquired lesions of lung abscess, cavitary neoplasm or inflammatory mass, bullous disease, bronchiectasis, and postinflammatory pneumatocele. Congenital lesions such as sequestration, bronchopulmonary-foregut anomalies, and bronchogenic cyst are also encounted. The definitive treatment for CCAM is complete removal of the involved lobe. Partial lobectomy leads to multiple complications, including severe post-operative infection. We report a case of CCAM in a 14-year-old female presentated with a pneumothorax and large bullae, who was treated by surgical remove of the involved lobe.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Bronchiectasis ; Bronchogenic Cyst ; Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation of Lung, Congenital* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epithelium ; Female ; Fetal Development ; Hamartoma ; Humans ; Lung Abscess ; Lung Diseases ; Lung* ; Pneumothorax

No abstract available.
Antibodies, Monoclonal* ; Leprosy* ; Lymphocyte Subsets* ; Lymphocytes*

CD99 is characteristically expressed in Ewing's sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor. Recently its immunoreactivity has also been reported in other tumors. However, the significance of CD99 isoforms expressed in these tumors has not been elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the expression of CD99 isoforms and its relationship with histopathologic parameters in gastric adenocarcinomas. Paraffin sections of 46 gastric adenocarcinomas were stained with an anti-CD99 monoclonal antibody, YG32. Twelve (26.1%) cases of 46 gastric adenocarcinomas showed immunoreactivity to YG32. The CD99 expression was also seen both in non-neoplastic foveolar epithelial cells and infiltrating lymphocytes. In addition, Western blot and RT-PCR analyses revealed that the type I is the predominant isoform of CD99 in non-neoplastic and neoplastic gastric tissues. The CD99 expression was usually seen in the intestinal type adenocarcinoma, while rarely in the diffuse type. The CD99 immunoreactivity decreased in MMP-2-overexpressing adenocarcinomas (p=0.028). Our results suggest that the type I is the major isoform of CD99 expressed in non-neoplastic gastric mucosa and gastric adenocarcinomas and its downregulation in gastric adenocarcinoma may be associated with cellular dedifferentiation and/or MMP-2 overexpression.
Adenocarcinoma/*immunology/pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD/*analysis/genetics ; Cell Adhesion Molecules/*analysis/genetics ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa/cytology/immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinases/metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Protein Isoforms/analysis/genetics ; RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms/*immunology/pathology